INTRODUCTION: Recent studies suggested potential positive correlations between HLA-specific antibodies and development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). METHODS: This prospective two-center study investigated early progression of CAV by coronary optical coherence tomography in 1 month and 12 months after heart transplantation (HTx) in 104 patients. Detection and characterization of donor specific (DSA) and MHC class-I polypeptide-related sequence A (MICA) antibodies were performed before, 1, 6 and 12 months after transplantation. RESULTS: During the first post-HTx year, we observed a significant reduction in the mean coronary luminal area (P < .001), and progression in mean intimal thickness (IT) (P < .001). DSA and anti-MICA occurred in 17% of all patients, but no significant relationship was observed between presence of DSA/anti-MICA and IT progression within 12 months after HTx. In contrast, we observed significant association between presence of DSA (p=0.031), de-novo DSA (p=0.031), HLA Class II DSA (p=0.017) and media thickness (MT) progression. CONCLUSION: Results of our study did not identify a direct association between presence of DSA/anti-MICA and intimal thickness progression in an early period after HTx. However, we found significant relationships between DSA and media thickness progression that may identify a newly recognized immune-pathological aspect of CAV.

• Klíčová slova
• Cardiac allograft vasculopathy, Donor specific antibodies, Heart transplant, Intimal thickness,
• MeSH
• alografty MeSH
• dárci tkání MeSH
• HLA antigeny MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• optická koherentní tomografie * MeSH
• prospektivní studie MeSH
• rejekce štěpu diagnóza   MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• transplantace srdce * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• HLA antigeny MeSH

Background Myocarditis is an important cause of acute and chronic heart failure. Men with myocarditis have worse recovery and an increased need for transplantation compared with women, but the reason for the sex difference remains unclear. Elevated sera soluble (s) ST2 predicts mortality from acute and chronic heart failure, but has not been studied in myocarditis patients. Methods and Results Adults with a diagnosis of clinically suspected myocarditis (n=303, 78% male) were identified according to the 2013 European Society of Cardiology position statement. Sera sST2 levels were examined by ELISA in humans and mice and correlated with heart function according to sex and age. Sera sST2 levels were higher in healthy men ( P=8×10-6) and men with myocarditis ( P=0.004) compared with women. sST2 levels were elevated in patients with myocarditis and New York Heart Association class III - IV heart failure ( P=0.002), predominantly in men ( P=0.0003). Sera sST2 levels were associated with New York Heart Association class in men with myocarditis who were ≤50 years old ( r=0.231, P=0.0006), but not in women ( r=0.172, P=0.57). Sera sST2 levels were also significantly higher in male mice with myocarditis ( P=0.005) where levels were associated with cardiac inflammation. Gonadectomy with hormone replacement showed that testosterone ( P<0.001), but not estradiol ( P=0.32), increased sera sST2 levels in male mice with myocarditis. Conclusions We show in a well-characterized subset of heart failure patients with clinically suspected and biopsy-confirmed myocarditis that elevated sera sST2 is associated with an increased risk of heart failure based on New York Heart Association class in men ≤50 years old.

• Klíčová slova
• biomarkers, heart failure, myocarditis, sST2, sex differences,
• MeSH
• biologické markery krev   MeSH
• biopsie MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• ELISA MeSH
• interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 protein krev   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• modely nemocí na zvířatech MeSH
• myokard patologie   MeSH
• myokarditida krev   komplikace   diagnóza   MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• následné studie MeSH
• prognóza MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• sexuální faktory MeSH
• srdeční selhání krev   diagnóza   etiologie   MeSH
• věkové faktory MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• multicentrická studie MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• biologické markery MeSH
• IL1RL1 protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 protein MeSH

INTRODUCTION: Viral infections are considered the most frequent cause of myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We investigated the changes in viral presence and the impact of viral genome persistence in the myocardium on echocardiographic parameters, functional status and some laboratory parameters in a 6-month follow-up. Fifty-four patients with recent onset DCM, left ventricular ejection fraction < 40% and biopsy-proven myocarditis (> 14 mononuclear leukocytes/mm2 and/or > 7 T-lymphocytes/mm2) were enrolled. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect pathogens in the myocardium. Patients were divided according to the administered therapy: standard heart failure medication (46 patients) and immunosuppressive therapy (8 patients). RESULTS: In the standard heart failure medication group viral clearance was observed in 13 patients and viral persistence in 24 patients in the follow-up period. Comparing both groups, there was no statistically significant difference - LVEF improvement of 12.0 ±11.4% vs. 18.3 ±12.6%, decrease in NYHA class of 0.7 ±0.7 vs. 1.0 ±0.7, decline in NT-proBNP of 1335 ±1933 ng/l vs. 1942 ±3242 ng/l and decrease in infiltrating leukocytes of 11.1 ±15.8 vs. 6.7 ±23.0 cells/mm2 and T-lymphocytes of 5.8 ±15.1 vs. 1.8 ±10.9 cells/mm2 (all p = NS). A decrease in PCR positive patients from 37 to 29 was observed. The number of PVB19 positive PCR findings decreased from 5 to 4 in patients with immunosuppressive therapy. CONCLUSIONS: A decrease in the number of positive PCR findings in control endomyocardial biopsy was observed. Viral genome persistence was not associated with worse outcome in short-term follow-up.

• Klíčová slova
• dilated cardiomyopathy, endomyocardial biopsy, inflammatory cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, polymerase chain reaction,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND: Optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based studies of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) published thus far have focused mainly on frame-based qualitative analysis of the vascular wall. Full capabilities of this inherently 3-dimensional (3D) imaging modality to quantify CAV have not been fully exploited. METHODS: Coronary OCT imaging was performed at 1 month and 12 months after heart transplant (HTx) during routine surveillance cardiac catheterization. Both baseline and follow-up OCT examinations were analyzed using proprietary, highly automated 3D graph-based optimal segmentation software. Automatically identified borders were efficiently adjudicated using our "just-enough-interaction" graph-based segmentation approach that allows to efficiently correct local and regional segmentation errors without slice-by-slice retracing of borders. RESULTS: A total of 50 patients with paired baseline and follow-up OCT studies were included. After registration of baseline and follow-up pullbacks, a total of 356 ± 89 frames were analyzed per patient. During the first post-transplant year, significant reduction in the mean luminal area (p = 0.028) and progression in mean intimal thickness (p = 0.001) were observed. Proximal parts of imaged coronary arteries were affected more than distal parts (p < 0.001). High levels of LDL cholesterol (p = 0.02) and total cholesterol (p = 0.031) in the first month after HTx were the main factors associated with early CAV development. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel, highly automated 3D OCT image analysis method for analyzing intimal and medial thickness in HTx recipients provides fast, accurate, and highly detailed quantitative data on early CAV changes, which are characterized by significant luminal reduction and intimal thickness progression as early as within the first 12 months after HTx.

• Klíčová slova
• OCT, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, cholesterol, intimal thickness, rapid progression,
• MeSH
• časná diagnóza MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• interpretace obrazu počítačem metody   MeSH
• koronární angiografie metody   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• následné studie MeSH
• nemoci koronárních tepen diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• optická koherentní tomografie * MeSH
• pooperační komplikace diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• progrese nemoci MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• transplantace srdce * MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• klinické zkoušky MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH